KPK Requests Postponement of Yaqut's Pretrial Hearing Today
The inaugural pretrial hearing for former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in the alleged hajj quota corruption case was scheduled for today. However, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested a postponement.
“The KPK, through its Legal Bureau, has submitted a request for postponement of today’s hearing, given that the team is simultaneously attending four other pretrial proceedings,” said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo when contacted on Tuesday (24/2/2026).
Yaqut has been designated a suspect in the alleged hajj quota corruption case by the KPK. He subsequently filed a pretrial challenge against his suspect status.
On Wednesday (11/2), it was reported that Yaqut had filed a pretrial motion at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (10/2) challenging the legality of his designation as a suspect. The motion was registered under case number 19/Pid.Pra/2026/PN JKT.SEL.
Yaqut is the petitioner in the case, whilst the KPK, care of the KPK leadership, is the respondent.
The hajj quota corruption case relates to the distribution of an additional 20,000 pilgrim places for the 2024 hajj quota during Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s tenure as Religious Affairs Minister. The additional quota was intended to reduce the queue or waiting period for regular Indonesian hajj pilgrims, which can reach 20 years or more.
Prior to the additional allocation, Indonesia received a hajj quota of 221,000 pilgrim places for 2024. After the addition, the total Indonesian hajj quota for 2024 rose to 241,000. The root of the problem began when the additional quota was divided equally — 10,000 for regular hajj and 10,000 for special hajj.
However, the Hajj Law stipulates that the special hajj quota should only constitute 8 per cent of Indonesia’s total hajj quota. Ultimately, Indonesia allocated 213,320 places for regular hajj pilgrims and 27,680 for special hajj pilgrims in 2024.
The KPK stated that the policy under Yaqut’s leadership resulted in 8,400 regular hajj pilgrims — who had been queuing for more than 14 years and should have been able to depart following the additional quota allocation in 2024 — being unable to make the pilgrimage.
The KPK’s investigation subsequently led to the designation of Yaqut and his former special staff member, Ishfah Abidal Aziz (IAA), also known as Gus Alex, as suspects. The KPK has affirmed that it possesses a substantial body of evidence supporting the suspect designations. Yaqut has not yet been detained.